HOT AND FRESH OUT THE KITCHEN

"Used To Be Young" is the latest single from Miley Cyrus. This is a bonus track on the reissued digital copy of her album, "Endless Summer Vacation" and first premiered on her recently updated documentary concert special, "Endless Summer Vacation: Continued (Backyard Sessions)". The introspective ballad (co-written by Cyrus with Gregory Aldae Hein and co-producer, Michael Pollack) addresses her wild behavior in the past, summing it up to her simply being young. The music video for the song is uncluttered and direct with Cyrus going through a flood of emotions while performing the song.

It has been ten years since Ariana Grande's debut studio album, "Yours Truly" that helped turn this teen actress into a pop music icon. Now a re-issue of the album has been released and this 10th anniversary edition features the original twelve tracks and new versions of six songs, recorded live at the Soho House in London. There is also a Spanglish take of Grande's breakout single, "The Way" with the late Mac Miller.

After briefly deciding to step away from music following the disappointing reception of her 2021 third album, "The End of an Era", Iggy Azalea has made a comeback with a new single. "Money Come", produced by Tricky Stewart and features a sample of K7’s "Come Baby Come", has the Aussie rapper's distinctive style and swagger back in action. The video for the song has Azalea acting as a CEO, going through an office building filled with men and transforming them into powerful women. She has also surprisingly teamed up with OnlyFans to help her in promoting the upcoming fourth album.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

After her last venture into '80's synth-pop and hard rock and roll with "Plastic Hearts", Miley Cyrus is back with "Endless Summer Vacation", a new collection that falls more into contemporary dance-pop and mellow rock. Cyrus has teamed up with some of today's top hitmakers on this album, collaborating with Greg Kurstin, Justin Tranter, Tobias Jesso Jr. (who won the very first Grammy Award for Songwriter of the Year last month), Mike Will Made It, Sia and Kid Harpoon, the British musician who handled much of the album's production, crafting an album that is an ode to the city of LA with contrasting musical styles that surprisingly work well together. There are guest artists on board as well with Sia, who provides vocals on "Muddy Feet", and Brandi Carlile is featured on "Thousand Miles". Following the first hit single, "Flowers", this latest album from the thirty year old Cyrus has proven to put even more distance between her early days as a perky, Disney pop-star and effectively displays her growth and maturity as a serious musical artist.

Sparks, the art-rock band made-up of the Mael brothers, Russell on vocals and Ron on keyboards, have been making music together professionally since 1970. Their sound is a quirky blend of various pop music elements and caustic lyrics. The duo has released the title track of their upcoming twenty-sixth (!!) studio album, "The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte", due out in May with Sparks returning to a major label, Island Records. But it's the music video of this song that has drawn a lot of attention due to the star in the clip. Meeting her at France's César Awards last year, the Maels asked Cate Blanchett to appear in the video and she happily agreed, showing off her dancing skills in the process. Sparks will be hitting the road beginning this summer with an extensive world tour which includes a stop at the Hollywood Bowl in their hometown of Los Angeles.



Here is a spotlight on some new songs that I like from Usher (which is giving a Prince vibe), Róisín Murphy, Mae Stephens and the rally calls of the pretty people from Big Boss Vette and Soulja Boy Tell'em:

And finally, I would like to pay tribute to Bobby Caldwell, the r&b musician who passed away on March 14th at the age of seventy-one. He is best remembered for the 1978 ballad, "What You Won't Do for Love" which has gone on to become an enduring classic. But what was not popularly known at the time, largely because it was never actually publicized and Caldwell was not prominently featured on his first album cover, is that the singer behind this soulful song was actually White. Born in New York but raised in Miami, Caldwell was exposed to a variety of soul and Carribean music which would greatly influence his style when he would turn to becoming a professional musician. His first break came playing rhythm guitar on tour for Little Richard in the early '70's. Caldwell later went on to pursue a solo career, eventually signing with TK Records. As they were a r&b label, his self-titled debut was released with an artist rendering that didn't reveal his face, hoping not to alienate their African-American audience. But they had nothing to worry about as the song (which Caldwell co-wrote with Alfons Kettner) was warmly embraced, reaching number six on the r&b chart and cracking the top-ten on the pop chart. "What You Won't Do" went on to be covered and sampled by many artists over the following years, increasing the popularity of the original version. This would be Caldwell's only significant hit as an artist but would go on to write songs for other musicians, most notably "The Next Time I Fall", a hit for Peter Cetera and Amy Grant in 1986.

JAM & LEWIS - VOL. ONE

You may not immediately recognize the names of "Jimmy Jam" Harris and Terry Lewis but you definitely know their music:

"Saturday Love" by Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal

"Human" by the Human League

"Just Be Good To Me" by the S.O.S. Band

"If It Isn't Love" by New Edition

"U Remind Me" by Usher

"Tender Love" by Force MD's

"Encore" by Cheryl Lynn

And almost the entire discography of Janet Jackson. This is just a very small number of songs this dynamic duo has co-written and produced since 1983. They have worked with a wildly diverse group of musicians during that time which includes Rod Stewart, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Bryan Adams, Chaka Khan, Boyz II Men, Sting, Yolanda Adams, Herb Alpert, Patti Austin, Earth Wind & Fire and The Spice Girls.

These long-time friends, who first met in college, would join as musicians with the Minneapolis-based funk band called Flyte Tyme. After connecting with Prince and Morris Day joining as lead singer, the group evolved in to the Time and released their self-titled debut album in 1981. This band enjoyed great success before the duo, who had begun to produce other acts on the side, missed a concert while stranded in Atlanta during a snow storm. Harris and Lewis would end up leaving the Time, after either quitting or were fired (depending on who you ask) in 1983. The song they had produced during that time for the S.O.S. Band, "Just Be Good To Me" would become a smash hit and helped launch the production careers of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Now after years of being in the background, Jam & Lewis have released their very first album under their own names. "Jam & Lewis Volume One" features an impressive line-up of artists that they have worked with previously (Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Usher) and for the first time (Toni Braxton, Babyface, Charlie Wilson, formerly of the Gap Band). And former Time members, Morris Day and Jerome Benton even show up along with The Roots on the track, "Babylove". This is a great collection of classic r&b by this influential team and I can't wait to hear the next volume.

THE 62ND ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS

With the messy scandal and controversy involving the Recording Academy and their now-ousted president along with the tragic and shocking passing of the legendary basketball star, Kobe Bryant and his teenage daughter, the 2020 Grammy Awards had a dark and heavy cloud to lift before the ceremony even began. But thankfully the show had host, Alicia Keys, appearing for the second time, to deliver a healing voice and positive energy to the somber audience. After asking everyone to hold Bryant in their hearts, she sang A cappella an incredibly moving version of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" along with Boyz ll Men who had a hit in 1991 with their cover.

The Grammys have always been about spectacle and big musical numbers and on that front, the show did not disappoint. Dedicating her performance to Kobe, Lizzo opened the show with the fiery ballad, "Cuz I Love You" and then put on display body positivity with an army of ballet dancers and her flute skills during her live version of "Truth Hurts".

Tyler The Creator may have started with a traditional r&b sound with assistance from Boyz ll Men and Charlie Wilson on "Earfquake" before he shifted to a lively punk/new wave energy while performing "New Magic Wand" with fellow bewigged blonde, male back-up dancers. And I loved his speech and his proud, teary-eyed mother who joined her son on stage to accept his win for Best Rap Album. Gary Clark Jr. brought fire and rage during his performance of "This Land", the title track of his Grammy-winning album which makes a compelling statement about his experience with racism in America.

I would have preferred to have seen less of Lil Nas X and his novelty country/rap hit, "Old Town Road" with his performance of the song extended beyond what was necessary with K-pop group, BTS, YouTube sensation, Mason Ramsey, DJ/producer, Diplo and Billy Ray Cyrus all brought on stage to join him. Aerosmith, the legendary rock group who received this year's MusiCares Person Of The Year award, struggled to bring vigorous life to their time on stage even with Run DMC joining them on their shared hit, "Walk This Way". The odd couple, country star, Blake Shelton and pop-punk singer, Gwen Stefani may have looked truly in love but their ballad, "Nobody But You" lacked actual passion.

And to promote an upcoming Grammy special to celebrate the music of Prince, Usher appeared to perform a number of the late funk master's songs. While he did a fair job on "Little Red Corvette", "When Doves Cry" and "Kiss", FKA Twigs. a Grammy nominee this year, joined him on stage but was shamefully regulated simply as a back-up dancer. This British pop-art performer should have definitely been given an opportunity to have done at least one song, perhaps bringing a more intriguing spin to this tribute to the Purple One.

But the highlights for me were the small yet emotional moments like Tanya Tucker, accompanied by Brandi Carlile, bringing depth and grit with her comeback country single, "Bring My Flowers Now"; Camila Cabello had nearly everyone in tears with the touching ballad, "First Man", dedicated to her father which she sang directly to him and Demi Lovato, who delivered a powerhouse vocal on "Anyone" , a heartbreaking song about her struggles with addiction, yet was so overcome before she even began that she had to start over.

And our fifteen time Grammy-winning host did not let anyone forget that she's still a vital musical artist. Early in the evening, Keys did an original song using the melody of Lewis Capaldi's hit, "Someone You Loved" which she name-checked some of the musicians who made an impact last year before returning later to perform her new single, "Underdog" which had Britney Howard joining her with a too short appearance on guitar.

Billie Eilish was the big winner of the evening, taking all four of the major categories with the eighteen year old being only the second artist ever to accomplish this feat (Christopher Cross was the first back in 1981). And Eilish surprised everyone with her low-key performance on the show by showing off her vocals with the ballad, "When The Party's Over" instead of the more expected frenetic energy we usually see from the artist.

Here is a partial list of winners of the 62nd annual Grammy Awards:

Album of the Year: Billie Eilish, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"
Record of the Year: Billie Eilish, "Bad Guy"
Song of the Year: "Bad Guy" - Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O'Connell; songwriters (Billie Eilish)
Best New Artist: Billie Eilish
Best Pop Vocal Album: Billie Eilish, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Elvis Costello & The Imposters, "Look Now"
Best Pop Solo Performance: Lizzo, "Truth Hurts"
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus, "Old Town Road"
Best Rap Album: Tyler the Creator, "Igor"
Best Rap Song: "A Lot" - Jermaine Cole, Dacoury Natche, 21 Savage & Anthony White; songwriters (21 Savage featuring J. Cole)
Best Rap Performance: Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch & Hit-Bo, "Racks in the Middle"
Best Rap/Sung Performance: DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend, "Higher"
Best R&B Album: Anderson .Paak, "Ventura"
Best Urban Contemporary Album: Lizzo, "Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)"
Best R&B Song: "Say So" — Pj Morton; songwriter (Pj Morton Featuring Jojo)
Best R&B Performance: Anderson .Paak & André 300, "Come Home"
Best Traditional R&B Performance: Lizzo, "Jerome"
Best Rock Album: Cage The Elephant, "Social Cues"
Best Rock Song: "This Land" — Gary Clark Jr.; songwriter (Gary Clark Jr.) Best Rock Performance: Best Rock Solo Performance: Gary Clark Jr., "This Land"
Best Country Album: Tanya Tucker, "While I'm Livin'"
Best Country Song: "Bring My Flowers Now" - Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker; songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
Best Country Solo Performance: Willie Nelson, "Ride Me Back Home"
Best Country Duo/Group Performance: Dan + Shay, "Speechless"
Best Comedy Album: Dave Chapelle, "Sticks & Stones"
Best Dance/Electronic Album: The Chemical Brothers, "No Geography"
Best Dance Recording: The Chemical Brothers, "Got To Keep On"
Best Music Video: Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, "Old Town Road (Official Movie)"
Best Music Film: Beyoncé, "Homecoming"
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, "A Star Is Born"
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media: Hildur Guðnadóttir, "Chernobyl"
Best Song Written for Visual Media: "I’ll Never Love Again" - (Film Version), Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Aaron Raitiere (Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born)
Best Remixed Recording: "I Rise (Tracy Young’s Pride Intro Radio Remix)" - Tracy Young (Madonna)
Best Instrumental Composition: "Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Symphonic Suite" — John Williams; composer (John Williams)
Best Spoken Word Album (includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling): Michelle Obama, "Becoming"
Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical): Finneas O'Connell

59 BEST SUMMER SONGS

When we hear a song, it can transport us back to certain time or place in our lives. That is most certainly true with a tune that came out during the hot months of summer. Good Housekeeping has looked back to those key songs of summer from every year since 1960. And I have included a few of my favorites from this list for your listening pleasure:

Click below to read the article:

The 59 Best Songs of Summer

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC OF 2014

There was quite a bit of good music during 2014 and it all helped motivate, inspire and excite me each and every day. I happily shared some of my favorites here throughout the year, so these are the rest of my best:

"Rather Be " - Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne

"Don't Tell 'Em" - Jeremih featuring YG

"2On" - Tinashe featuring ScHoolboy Q

"Am I Wrong" - Nico & Vinz



"I Don't Mind" - Usher featuring Juicy J

"Water Fountain" - Tune-Yards

"Cool Kids" - Echosmith

"I Was Gonna Cancel (Steph Seroussi Family Remix)" - Kylie Minogue



"Love Me Harder" - Ariana Grande featuring The Weeknd

"Show Me" - Kid Ink featuring Chris Brown

"Turn Down For What" - DJ Snake & Lil' Jon

HOT AND FRESH OUT THE KITCHEN

"CONFESS" - TWIN SHADOW

New York based musician, George Lewis, Jr. , who is better known as Twin Shadow, has written and produced his new album, "Confess", the follow-up to his 2010 release,  "Forget".  His sound combines elements of 1980's new-wave with breezy dance pop but his music stands out because of his elegantly poetic lyrics.

"Five Seconds" - Twin Shadow

"ELECTRA HEART" - MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS

Marina and the Diamonds is not actually a band but merely consists of twenty-six year old, Welsh singer-songwriter, Marina Diamandis. She came up with the stage moniker with the help of her last name as Diamandis means "Diamonds" in Greek.

Marina's 2010 debut album, "The Family Jewels" was a critical success in the U.K.and with the release of the second, "Electra Heart", it features more of her offbeat but very catchy pop songs. This time she has production assistance from some of pop music's usual suspects; Dr. Luke, Diplo, Stargate and Guy Sigsworth, so perhaps this solid album will hopefully broaden her U.S. audience.

"How To Be a Heartbreaker" - Marina and the Diamonds

"LOOKING 4 MYSELF" - USHER

Usher has returned with his seventh studio album, "Looking 4 Myself" which features what he describes as "revolutionary pop" that combines r&b, hip-hop, electronic and europop. With the assistance of some of today's top producers such as will i am, Danja, Salaam Remi, Diplo and Swedish House Mafia, Usher creates some risky and innovative songs. While not all of them work but the album is an admirable attempt to broaden his sound and the genre.

"Numb" - Usher

"CHANNEL ORANGE" - FRANK OCEAN

Although r&b/hip-hop artist, Frank Ocean has been in the news recently due to his personal revelations but he has been creating music for a while now. He has worked with the hip-hop group, Odd Future, written material for such diverse talent as Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Kanye West and John Legend and he recorded a solo mixtape last year.

After two songs, "Novacane" and "Swim Good" created some buzz for the artist but his label, Def-Jam delayed the release of the complete work, so a frustrated Ocean decided to offer, "Nostalgia, Ultra" as a free download to great acclaim. Now, the twenty-four year old, New Orleans native has his first official release, "Channel Orange" out now and it's a raw and honest collection  that at once feel fresh yet familiar. He evokes the sounds of Prince and Marvin Gaye but manages to create music in his own clear, distinctive voice.

"Lost" - Frank Ocean

"THE IDLER WHEEL . . . " -  FIONA APPLE

Fiona Apple has never followed any musical trends and has only created music whenever she was truly inspired which makes her an unusual presence in today's pop music scene. It's been seven years since her last release but Apple is finally back with her fourth CD which features the lengthy title "The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do".

The thirty-four year old artist has crafted another collection of her signature eccentric songs that are spare, thoughtful and introspective, as she shares with us her emotional journey during the time she's been away.

"Valentine" - Fiona Apple

The latest female MC receiving plenty of media attention these days is twenty-one year old, Azealia Banks from New York. She just dropped an EP, "1991" with her debut album due out later this fall. I love this video for the song, "Liquorice" which brings her urban fabulousity to the wild west:



This is the wild new music video by Florence and the Machine for "Spectrum", one of my favorite song off their latest album :



Finally, here is the video for Mika's latest single, "Celebrate" from his forthcoming album, "The Origin of Love". I think this is a really great pop song that should become a big hit for him:

HOT & FRESH OUT THE KITCHEN

FANTASIA - "BACK TO ME"

I'm not going to get in to any of Fantasia's personal drama (there are plenty of other places you can go to get all of that info) but I am going to tell you about the American Idol winner's third album, "Back To Me [+digital booklet]". 

The title of this new record is appropriate because she has come back strong with a collection of solid and smooth r&b songs and brings her own special spin to each one.

This is a great song off of the album and she's gotten some assist from Cee-Lo Green:

The Thrill Is Gone - Fantasia

KATY PERRY - "TEENAGE DREAM"

Katy Perry is off to a great start with her summer smash hit song, "California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg)" which was a nice kick off for her third album, "Teenage Dream [Explicit]".

She began her career as Katy Hudson singing Christian-rock before taking on her mother's maiden name and becoming Katy Perry (to avoid any apparent confusion with actress, Kate Hudson) to belt out secular music.

This follow-up to her 2008 hit album, "One Of The Boys" has her returning to the sound that worked so well for her previously. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it does make this album seem really not much more that a collection of a few potential singles surrounded by a lot of filler. Despite that, I'm sure this CD will keep Ms Perry at the top of the charts for quite a while.

The title track appears to be her next hit single:

Teenage Dream - Katy Perry

And here is the trippy music video for her first hit off of the album:



MATTHEW DEAR - "BLACK CITY"

Matthew Dear is better known as a electronic producer and a remix artist but he is taking center stage on his new album, "Black City".  His sound is a combination of house beats mashed up with his distorted vocals and grooving techno pop music.

Although he was born in Texas, he grew up in Michigan where as a teenager, he was inspired by the electronic music scene there.

He has also created music under the names, Audion, False and Jabberjaw.

Here is a sample of his music off of his latest:

Honey - Matthew Dear

USHER - "VERSUS"

"Versus [+digital booklet]"  is Usher's follow-up EP to this year's release, "Raymond V Raymond [+digital booklet]". I'm not sure why this was necessary because his other CD just came out only five months ago but this collection would, according to the artist," explore the subjects of being newly single and being a father".

There are seven new songs plus two remixes which includes the Justin Bieber single,"Somebody To Love Remix".

I like this song off of his new record in which he teams up with Jay-Z:

Hot Tottie - Usher Featuring Jay-Z